5.  The applicant was born in 1949 and lives in Baku.
6.  The applicant held positions as head of the education department of the Caucasus Muslims Board (Qafqaz Müsəlmanlar İdarəsi, the official governing body of Muslim religious organisations in Azerbaijan), member of the Qazi (Islamic Judges') Council (Qazılar Şurası) of the Caucasus Muslims Board, and director of the Sumgayit branch of Baku Islamic University. He was also a founder and editor-in-chief of a journal called Kelam, published since 2002 and printing various articles with an Islamic religious content.
7.  On an unspecified date, the applicant lodged an application with the Constituency Electoral Commission (“the ConEC”) for the single-seat Massalli Village Electoral Constituency No. 71 for registration as a candidate in the upcoming elections to the Milli Majlis (Parliament) on 6 November 2005. Together with the application, he submitted a written undertaking to terminate any professional activities incompatible with the office of member of parliament.
8.  According to the minutes of the joint meeting of the Qazi Council and Religious Science Council of the Caucasus Muslims Board held on 14 July 2005, the applicant's membership of the Qazi Council was terminated on the basis of his own resignation letter. It was noted that the resignation was accepted in view of the applicant's having nominated himself as a candidate for the parliamentary elections.
9.  According to an order issued by the chairman of the Caucasus Muslims Board on 15 August 2005, the applicant was relieved of his positions as head of the Board's education department and director of the Sumgayit branch of Baku Islamic University.
10.  On 25 August 2005 the ConEC refused to register the applicant as a candidate because he “was continuing his activities as a professional clergyman (peşəkar din xadimi)”, which were incompatible with the requirements of Article 14.2.4 of the Electoral Code.
11.  The applicant complained about this decision to the Central Electoral Commission (“the CEC”). On 27 August 2005 the CEC rejected the applicant's complaint. The entire CEC decision consisted of the following:
“[The CEC], having examined the complaint of Miraziz Mirasgar oglu Seyidzade, who has nominated himself for election to the Milli Majlis ..., in accordance with Articles 19.4, 19.14, 28.4 and 112.9 of the Electoral Code and Articles 3.5 and 3.6 of the Law of 27 May 2003 on the approval and entry into force of the Electoral Code, decides:
To reject the complaint of Miraziz Mirasgar oglu Seyidzade as unsubstantiated.”
12.  The applicant lodged an appeal against this decision with the Court of Appeal, complaining that his candidacy had been terminated unlawfully as he had resigned from all positions involving “professional religious activity” and was no longer engaged in any religious activities. On 1 September 2005 the Court of Appeal rejected his appeal, finding that the CEC's decision was lawful. Specifically, the Court of Appeal noted:
“According to the materials in the case file, Miraziz Mirasgar oglu Seyidzade, who has nominated himself for election to the Milli Majlis, is a clergyman.
According to Article 56 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the right of clergymen ... to participate in elections may be restricted.
According to the requirements of Article 14.2.4 of the Electoral Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, clergymen may not serve as members of the Milli Majlis while they are engaged in professional religious activity.
The applicant's arguments that he had been relieved of his positions with the Caucasus Muslims Board and Baku Islamic University cannot be considered as a ground for upholding his claim.
Specifically, the fact that [the applicant] has been relieved of the above-mentioned positions does not rule out his engaging in professional religious activity.
On the other hand, according to Article 85 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, a clergyman may not be elected as a member of the Milli Majlis.
Accordingly, given that the decision of the Central Electoral Commission was in compliance with the requirements of the Constitution and the Electoral Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the arguments advanced in the applicant's appeal cannot be considered as a basis for quashing this decision.”
13.  The applicant lodged a cassation appeal against this judgment with the Supreme Court. On 8 September 2005 the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal using the same reasoning.
14.  The applicant attempted to have the proceedings reopened and the case reviewed by the Plenum of the Supreme Court, by lodging an additional cassation appeal with the Supreme Court's President. On 20 September 2005 the Supreme Court's President rejected his request, finding no grounds for reopening the proceedings.
15.  Lastly, the applicant lodged a constitutional complaint. By an inadmissibility decision of 26 October 2005, the Constitutional Court refused to admit the complaint for examination on the merits, finding that the applicant had essentially disputed the factual findings of the courts of general jurisdiction (specifically, on the question whether the applicant was actually engaged in any “professional religious activity”). The Constitutional Court noted that it had no competence to review the correctness of the established factual circumstances of the case. It also stated the following with regard to the restriction of clergymen's right to stand for election in general:
“According to Article 7 (I) of the Constitution, the Republic of Azerbaijan is a democratic, secular, unitary republic governed by the rule of law. Article 18 (I) of the Constitution provides that religion shall be separate from the State. In this context, the above provisions must inevitably be taken into account in the constitutional rules on formation of the supreme elected government body.
The restriction on the election of clergymen to government bodies, which is based on the demands of the public interest, has the primary aim of separating religion from the State. The restriction serves the purposes of removing matters inherent in the State's functioning from the sphere of influence of religious communities, clerics and religious figures, and keeping such influence to a minimum.
Another aim of the restriction is to separate religious voters from the clergy in the context of the election process, as a means to ensure that voters form their opinions and make their choice free from any undue interference.
It must be noted that the legal systems of a number of other States also provide for restrictions on the right of clergymen to stand for election. ...
Article 14.2.4 of the Electoral Code provides that clergymen cannot be members of the Milli Majlis, President of the Republic, or members of municipalities while they are engaged in professional religious activity. As such, the legislator applied the “religious-based eligibility requirement” restricting clergymen's right to serve as members of parliament only to periods when the latter are engaged in professional religious activity.”